Jury to resume deliberations Thursday in Franklin murder retrial

SOMERVILLE -- Jurors are expected to resume deliberating Thursday in the retrial of a New Brunswick man accused of gunning down an 18-year-old Franklin High School graduate 2 1/2 years ago at the township’s Little League complex.

Robert Sciarrino/The Star-LedgerAccused murderer Xavier Bailey in court in Somerville last week.Xavier Bailey, 20, could face 30 years to life in prison if convicted of killing Ammar Simmons, who was beaten by several members of the Bloods street gang on July 15, 2007 at the baseball field on Dekalb Street after he falsely claimed to be a member.

The first trial, which began in April 2009, ended with a hung jury.

Today, a new set of jurors began deliberating. They stopped for the day after 2 1/2 hours.

The key witness in the case, Simmons’ friend Troy Chance, testified this week he saw a “flash” come from Bailey, who was holding a gun in his right hand, said Assistant Prosecutor Tim Van Hise. The murder weapon was never recovered, but police found a .25-caliber shell casing wedged between a rock and the concrete apron where a soda machine had been, the same area where Chance said Bailey was standing.

The shooting occurred after Simmons enraged a couple dozen gang members by failing a “G-check,” a series of questions to determine whether he’s a Blood, said defense attorney Louis A. Mangione Jr. Chance, a gang member himself, tried to defend Simmons.

Chance has changed his story several times, Mangione told the jury. The day after the shooting, Chance indicated he didn’t know whether his friend was shot or stabbed and said he didn’t know who did it. Mangione also pointed out Chance had been drinking and smoking pot earlier that night at a party. “This isn’t a credible witness here,” Mangione said in his closing statement this morning.

Van Hise acknowledged Chance’s statements were inconsistent, but that was because Chance was afraid of being a “snitch,” something he loudly proclaimed he wouldn’t become at the hospital where he and others dropped off the wounded Simmons.

At last year’s trial, Chance backtracked saying he wasn’t sure who killed Simmons. But this week, when Chance was asked on the stand about his change of heart, Chance said back then he was in Trenton State Prison, “the toughest prison in New Jersey,” where he had to constantly look over his shoulder. He feared what would happen if the other inmates thought he was a rat. Chance is now on parole.

“Code exists on the street, but boy is it really enforced in the prison,” Van Hise told the jury.